| dc.description.abstract | The right to development has been a matter of great controversy since its formulation in the 1970s and 1980s. As a third generation and solidarity right (→ Generations of Human Rights; → International Solidarity, Right to), which provides legal entitlements to individuals and → peoples, scholars have disagreed about recognizing the right to development (for a good summary of the different positions see Alston [1988]; Orford [2005]). Despite the acknowledgement of the right in the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development (the Declaration), the → soft law character, the open-endedness of several provisions and the weak implementation mechanisms continue to provoke criticism. However, in practice, the → United Nations (UN) has integrated the right to development in its institutional architecture and in several international documents, on both human rights and other matters. Moreover, at least in the African regional human rights context, the right to development is → justiciable, particularly concerning peoples’ collective right to participate in the development process and the benefits of development. This entry first analyses the history and purpose of the right to development in the United Nations context. Second, it analyses the text of the 1986 UN Declaration on the Right to Development (UNGA, Res 41/128). Third, it discusses the relevance of the right to development in different UN policy areas and the UN mechanisms dedicated to the right to development. Fourth, the entry briefly explores the regional human rights mechanisms that have included a right to development, focusing on the African human rights system and its case law. Lastly, the entry evaluates challenges and depicts trends concerning the right to development. | en |
